I know that the first thing that comes to mind when you hear of beach ministry is a lame excuse for me to take advantage of every opportunity to go to the beach and enjoy myself. I will admit that we lived about 10 minutes from the most beautiful white sand beach I have ever seen and I thoroughly enjoyed every time I got to go hang out or swim. LIttle did I realize that this beach would end up being the place that I would develop the deepest relationships with people and have my own faith challenged in ways I have never experienced before.
While we were at the beach, we would be approached daily by Mu.s.lim vendors trying to sell us their pearls, necklaces, blow dart guns, and other souvenirs. We’d normally wave them off and tell them we weren’t interested. However, after some encounters with the same guys, we were able to strike up some conversation regarding why we were in the Philippines.
What began as a small conversation led to multiple meetings with the guys down at the beach. Our conversations were deep with discussions as we talked about our own faiths and asked each other questions. It was just incredible how such a respectful relationship was able to develop between us, and they honestly were not afraid to ask any question regarding Christianity. Furthermore, I was able to state my beliefs boldly without any filtering at all. I learned so much through their questions regarding my faith, received quite an education regarding their beliefs. Their devotion puts Christians to shame, and I felt challenged to pursue my faith in God so much more after each of our conversations.
In the end, there were no conversions or grand transformations. But seeing the tears well up in their eyes and the hearing words they spoke to us when we said our final farewell, I knew that the investment made in the relationship was worth more than I could ever imagine. They told us that all of them had prayed for our trip at their mosque that morning and they prayed that we would meet up once again at some point in life.
